Haunting Ground -PS2- 8

November 8, 2023

Haunting Ground is a survival horror game centered around Fiona, a girl who wakes up in a mansion after a car accident. The gameplay revolves around you escaping the mansion as you hide from stalkers chasing you. I just beat Haunting Ground this morning and received “Ending A”, which is one of the good endings. (I watched the other three endings on YouTube, and I think the Ending D is the most chilling.) I enjoyed the game for its mysterious atmosphere, gorgeous graphics, and creepy villains. The sense of dread and tension when you are being followed by one of the enemies or accidentally run into them was extremely well done. Every time the music would start to grind and I would hear some distant footsteps, my teeth would grit in fear of one of the predators coming after me. This would happen at random, so it kept the tension running through the whole playtime. My favorite villain was the very disturbing Daniella. There are also no loading screens in between rooms, which makes the game a technical marvel on the ps2. The bond you have with Hewie the dog is pretty sweet, and he’s a big help in defending Fiona from her assailants. This game has a lot of unique concepts, but I will say you have to be in the right mood to play it. Just like most of these heady psychological survival horror games (think Silent Hill 2), a lot of the story beats are subtle and the puzzles can be a bit obscure. (Gamefaqs and YouTube helped me a lot.) But progressing through the castle feels rewarding, and the I appreciated the plot revelations more as I thought about them. The hide and seek mechanics within the environments were pretty unique, as were the dog commands for Hewie. The fear effects were also cool in the way that the graphics and controls became distorted the more scared Fiona became. The AI was also pretty smart, as I could not use the same hiding spot too often, otherwise the enemy would pick up on my tracks. Backtracking to find new hiding spots was a must in the heat of a chase, but it never felt like a chore due to the effective tension and beautiful castle to explore. I know this game got lukewarm reviews from critics upon release, but it has since developed a strong cult following over the years. I thought it was cool and very effective in its harrowing atmosphere and interesting themes of a young girl being chased by stalkers. I’m giving Haunting Ground an 8 out of ten.